Running Poem and Thoughts (Read 324 times)

Well, guys... I've almost been at it again for 1 whole year now and am still going strong! This week I had a lot of people asking me why I run and why I have such dreamer goals and most of them would try to bring my head back down to earth with discouraging comments about all the reasons I'll probably never succeed. The truth is, I really don't know the core reason behind why I have set the bar so high for myself. I guess it's a combination of many things... my will to succeed, my childhood dream, my need for affirmation, and other self-centered reasons, but at the same time, my strongest driving force to be the best I can be comes from other runners. Everyone who has even a tiny interest in running... I run for them. I'm not sure if that makes sense at all, especially because I haven't truly figured it out myself, yet. But, one thing I know for certain is that I am driven to succeed and to be the best runner I can be by the sheer amount of happiness and positive change running has the potential to offer people, if they are just willing to take that first step! Anyway, when I get my head all wrapped up trying to figure something like this out I tend to go off on tangents in an attempt to arrive at some sort of a conclusion. So in this case the tangent was a poem. I figure I could either keep it private or put my heart on the line and share it with everyone in the hopes that it will inspire those who read it. Putting our hearts and souls out there for everyone to see is basically what we runners do on a regular basis at races when we're giving it our all, right? So I might as well continue that tradition in this community. Chasing a Dream People tell me I'm crazy, to them, I'm sure it does seem. They don't know why I do it, Forever chasing a dream. I wonder if they are right, If they know something I don't. Will my effort be ill spent, If I give and say "I won't." Does it truly define me, What I do give for this sport? Or just a waste of my life, Which causes loved ones much tort? It is not just about me, I'm running toward something great. Cumulate dreams are my thrust, Those of all runners to date. I realize I'm not crazy: That we're all on the same team. Love drives me to push onward: Continue chasing a dream.